rocks

A python client to explore and retrieve asteroid data from SsODNet. It serves to quickly get answers to common questions as the ones below. All data is cited and new observations are ingested on a weekly basis.[1]


Identification of minor bodies using quaero.

What is the number of Didymos? What asteroid has the number 594913?

What aliases of 2000 UD93 are used in different databases?


Best estimates of dynamical and physical parameters from the ssoCard.

What is the albedo of (221) Eos?

What is the distribution of thermal inertias of known Barbarian asteroids?


Complete[2] literature overview with datacloud and the ssoBFT.

What masses of (1) Ceres have been published by whom?

Two lines for one table of ~720,000,000 minor body parameters.


And more!

Who was zappafrank?

Is my data in SsODNet and getting cited?


rocks makes this information accessible in two ways: via the command line for quick exploration and via python for scripted analysis. The syntax is simple and intuitive.

$ rocks id 221
(221) Eos

$ rocks class Eos
MB>Outer

$ rocks albedo Eos
0.136 +- 0.004

$ rocks masses Eos
+---+-------------+-------------+---------------+---------+--------------+
|   | mass        | err_mass_up | err_mass_down | method  | shortbib     |
+---+-------------+-------------+---------------+---------+--------------+
| 1 | 1.22125e+18 | 0.0         | 0.0           | EPHEM   | Folkner+2014 |
| 2 | 2.39e+18    | 5.97e+17    | -5.97e+17     | DEFLECT | Goffin+2014  |
| 3 | 1.04688e+18 | 5.16159e+17 | -5.16159e+17  | EPHEM   | Fienga+2019  |
+---+-------------+-------------+---------------+---------+--------------+

>>> from rocks import Rock     # every asteroid is represented by a 'Rock' instance
>>> ceres = Rock("ceres")      # retrieve ssoCard of (1) Ceres
>>> ceres.diameter.value       # get the parameter values and metadata via the dot notation
848.4
>>> ceres.diameter.unit
'km'
>>> ceres.mass.value
9.384e+20
>>> ceres.mass.error
6.711e+17

Footnotes